DNC hotels infested with bedbugs

Then, worried about filling the seats at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, they bussed in people from black churches in South Carolina, and some 100 students from Duke University to fill the empty seats. Thousands of convention tickets have been given away as freebies.

Now, it’s the invasion of the bedbugs.

David Hill reports from Charlotte, NC, for The Washington Times, Sept. 3, 2012, that bedbugs are an increasing concern at DNC hotels.

The blood-sucking insects have made a resurgence in recent years, including reports of them at nine of the hotels being used for Democrats’ nominating convention this week in Charlotte.

A search of BedBugRegistry.com brings up more than 30 Charlotte-area hotels where visitors have reported bedbugs, including nine hotels that will host at least 10 of the state delegations attending this week’s convention.

Some of the hotels — such as the DoubleTree by Hilton Charlotte Airport hotel, which will host the Connecticut delegation — have had a single report more than a year ago. But the Drury Inn & Suites Northlake, which will house Ohio delegates, had a report from an anonymous Internet user claiming there were “numerous bugs” during a stay in April.

The Charlotte-Center City Holiday Inn, which will welcome the Illinois delegation, has been reported three times since March by Web users whose complaints included finding bugs “in clear sight” and ending up “covered in bites” after a one-night stay.

Of the hotels expected to host convention delegates, the most complaints were aimed at the Charlotte Marriott City Center, where five reports have been posted since July 2011. Visitors reported finding bites days after their stays, and at least two said they ended up bringing bugs home. Another said the hotel refused to provide reimbursement for a laundry bill after the visitor had to dry-clean clothes.

Hotels contacted by The Washington Times about bedbug reports either referred calls to their corporate headquarters or didn’t return messages.

A study released this March by pest control company Orkin rated Charlotte as having the 33rd-most bedbug reports of any city in 2011. The list was topped by Cincinnati, Chicago and Detroit. By contrast, the GOP’s choice for its convention last week, Tampa, Fla., didn’t make the list of the 50 most-infested cities.

Jung W. Kim, environmental senior specialist for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said upon checking into a hotel, guests should inspect their mattress, box spring and the back of their headboard for bedbug fecal matter in the form of tiny black dots. Guests should request a new room if they suspect bedbugs, and could take other steps such as keeping their luggage in the bathroom or putting washable items in the dryer immediately after returning home.

“You may get bites, but you’re not going to bring any bedbugs to your home,” he said. “As long as you don’t bring bedbugs to your home, you should be fine.”